


muffled music plays from another room

by BillieBunnie



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Edd is well known but doesn't want to be, Fluff, Highschool AU, M/M, Matt is the most popular guy in school, Mild Cursing, Oneshot, Tom doesn't really know any of them, Tord and Edd are friends, Tord wants to be, and also wants Matt, awkward teens, but he wants to know edd, drunk teenagers, first meeting? technically, high school party, i guess the TomEdd part can be seen as either platonic or romantic, mentioned alcohol use, mentioned mild drug use, slight mention of Mark, they're just really tired, this turned out longer than intended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-28 12:51:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11418366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BillieBunnie/pseuds/BillieBunnie
Summary: A simple high school au where a grumpy drunk Edd meets Tom for the first time during a party, and Tord desperately tries to get Matt to call him by the right name.





	1. distant beat drop

**Author's Note:**

> got the idea from a book scene- feel free to guess which book. this was supposed to be short, but now i guess it's two chapters long. i'm mainly posting it now so i'll actually work on finishing it, haha. 
> 
> enjoy

Popular house parties, in Edd’s opinion, are the worst place to be. The peer pressure, the earsplitting music, the annoying stupid antics that everyone did when drunk, it was all just the worst. 

Edd would rather never go to another party ever again, and instead just sit around with a good friend or two and simply hang out, listening to music or playing some games or just anything other than talking about who banged who or who needed to get their teeth knocked in. 

Unfortunately, his only real friend, was the exact opposite. Tord was smart, genus levels honestly, but he didn’t want to be known for his intelligence any more than Edd wanted to be flocked to by his air headed peers. Tord wanted to be liked and followed and popular. He wanted to gossip and threaten and leer, and be looked to as the most important guy in school. He wanted to be at the top of the food chain, and gobble up everyone else in his path. Especially Matthew Graves; the single most popular guy in school. And, because Tord wanted all of these things, Edd tended to get dragged into every single situation that he wanted to avoid. Much like tonight.

The stage was set at a huge house breaking party with throbbing music and humping, drunk teenagers. It was a nice house too, although it was already horribly trashed by the time Tord dragged Edd inside. Only ten minutes after arriving, Tord disappeared from Edd’s side, and left him alone with all the people he absolutely hated. Edd tried to not let his discomfort show, and ended up joking along with all the others. Edd was tempted to just leave, but Tord was his ride. 

Unfortunately being left alone with a popular, jeering group allowed Edd to get bullied into drinking with them. Which led to even more drinking, and Edd was emotionally bullied into a drink for drink situation, which was more alcohol than Edd had ever had before. He had been hoping that drinks would make the party more enjoyable, but to no avail. In fact, all it did was make him less caring and less coherent.

A few broken chairs, too many water downed beers and burning vodka shots to count, and a blur of hours later, Edd found himself stumbling into an empty bathroom somewhere upstairs (he had no idea where exactly), heaving his guts out into the toilet as the popular crowd that chanted ‘one more drink, one more drink’ completely opted out of the situation. In their minds, Edd had just failed one of another popularity contests, but they were drinking just as much and probably wouldn’t remember anyway. So Edd would probably still be allowed back in their circle later, which just made this whole thing worse.

Edd could’ve sworn he overheard a voice groaning out, “Ooooh noooo,” but he figured he was just imagining it, and, besides, he was too busy hurling up his guts to really care. Besides, he doubted any of ‘his crowd’ actually cared enough to check on him.

When his stomach was empty, Edd’s brain didn’t seem to get the signal yet so he just dry heaved and spat until he was drooling. The bathroom door was closed, music loudly thudding outside, and the party in full swing as Edd was shut away in his little spinning world. He wondered where Tord was, and if that bastard was actually having a good time instead of the hell that Edd was experiencing. He had caught a glimpse of Tord’s horn styled hair as he stumbled up the stairs, somewhere deep in the kitchen, but he doubted that Tord noticed.

It was by the fifth flush that Edd felt a little more stable, but all the more like shit.

“‘m friends with shit people,” Edd ended up slurring, spitting again.

“You okay?” 

Edd blinked back sickened tears from his eyes, and looked up. Clean bathroom tiles, printed towels, glass door for the shower. Closed bathroom door. No one was in the room.

“-lo?”

The same voice as before laughed, a bit loosely, taking on a slightly teasing tone. “Hey- How you doin?” 

Edd narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the source of the voice; the marble bathroom counter right next to the toilet.

He may have had a lot to drink, but there was no way he was hallucinating. Hopefully.

“Are you in- Are you under the sink?” 

“Yup.” There was no shame in the person’s voice, in fact Edd couldn’t recall hearing a more casual reply from a person hiding in a sink cabinet before.

Edd rolled spit around in his mouth and spat.

“Mm, why?” 

A shifting noise reached Edd’s ears, and a bottle of something fell over under the sink.

“I’m hiding from someone. This guy is gonna kick my head in cause his girlfriend has great tits and I grabbed ‘em,” The person giggled like he just said some sort of joke.

“… Good for you.” Edd pushed sweaty hair from his eyes, and spat into the toilet. His mouth tasted awful and his hoodie felt too suffocating, but his head wouldn’t stop rolling so he couldn’t get the sweater off. He ended up giving up before he could try, if he tried, and just flushed the toilet again. For no real reason, he added with a deep groan, “I’m drunk.”

“I can tell,” The person hiding in a space much too small to hide in snorted, and threw in seemingly out of the spirit of it, “I’m high. Like really high, like a bird kind of high. Or maybe owl, y’know since it’s night.”

Edd said nothing because he didn’t really know what to say to that, so instead he just leaned against the wall and felt the world tilt. The man (the voice is deep and it just makes more sense) in the counter offered nothing, and Edd suspected that the guy might be having a bad reaction or something. 

After a few moments of silence, filled only by the drowned out rap music beyond the bathroom door, Edd shoved himself up from the sick toilet. He tripped over his own feet and the world shifted like he just got off a Tilt-o-Whirl, but he managed to catch the sink before he fell on his face. Not even bothering to push up his sleeves, Edd proceeded to wash his hands, mouth, and face. His hoodie was soaked before he even got the first mouthful, but he found the cold soothing so he didn’t really care.

Edd gargled and spat, and he found it difficult to raise his head to even look at himself in the mirror. 

He didn’t really notice, but he found himself mumbling his semi-coherent thoughts. A majority that came out was slurred and garbled, and he forgot the words almost as soon as they left his clumsy mouth. 

“’m gonna pass out- ’m going to find Tord, punch his stupid face, crawl under someone’s bed, and pass out. For, like, three years.”

“You want gum?”

Edd paused, blinking at the sink drain as if the sink itself had offered.

“Okay?” 

The cabinet door next to Edd’s thigh opened a bit, and a dark hand peeked out, a stick of gum between two fingers. The nails are painted black, and the thin wrist had a spiked silver studded bracelet. A goth bracelet. 

Edd took the gum, and the hand retreated again. The gum was peppermint and a thousand times better than what Edd’s mouth tasted like before.

“You know, people that drink usually carry gum with them.” The sink goth stated almost tiredly, and Edd chewed, not on the thought, but the gum.

“That’s a good idea. ‘cept I don’t usually drink so…” He answered, voice slurred and sticky.

“Why are you wasted now, then?”

Edd answered instantly, running a hand through his wet bangs and pushing them back from his face, “Peer pressure. M’ friend ditched me to flirt with M-aaa-tt, and I’m no good around crowds. So I drank. And possibly broke a table or somethin’.” 

“Matt? As in Matt Graves, the fuckin prince of our school?”

“That’ss the one,” Edd nodded to his reflection, wondering if he really looked as wrecked as he saw or if that was just through the haze of alcohol. Or both.

The sink let out a laugh. “Hopefully your friend knows what they’re doin, or Matt’s gonna steamroll ‘em.”

Edd let out his own muddled laugh, picturing his best friend getting tongue tied and ignored by the most popular guy in school. It would serve him right. “Oh don’t worry. He doesn’t.”

There was a beat of silence, and Edd guessed that the guy under the sink must’ve passed out. Instead of worrying, Edd took in his shifting appearance in the mirror. His hair was slicked and messy, hanging around his eyes differently than it usually did. It was weird to see his eyes, considering that Edd usually kept his bangs over them, and it was especially weird considering that they were unfocused and he was sure that they were brown, but they looked more green now. Or maybe that was just his hoodie. 

“Hey. Can I hold your leg?”

“Huh?”

“Can I, like, hold your leg for a minute or something? I just need to touch something warm and it’s really, really cold under here.”

Edd squinted at the sink. “You’re really tripping hard, aren’t you?”

“Yup- So, can I? Please?”

Maybe it was because Edd was drunk, or because the guy sounded perfectly innocent (plus the guy had shared gum with someone who had vomit breath, and that warranted at least a leg snuggling), but regardless the reason Edd shrugged to himself and let out a tired huff.

“I mean, I guess.”

The cabinet doors opened, and Edd backed up a step with his hands shoved in his pockets. He felt himself sway a bit, but he figured he wouldn’t fall. 

A person lithely slipped out from the sink pipes, and Edd saw ripped loose black jeans, combat boots, black jacket, and messy spiked pale brown hair. Before Edd could recognize any part of the person, two arms curled around his leg and a head rested against his thigh. 

“So, like, what are you on?”

The person squeezed his leg, and stated, “I don’t even know, man, but I tasted colors for a while.”

Edd laughed in response. Then the guy actually peeked up at him and it suddenly struck Edd just who was hugging his leg, and he was honestly more confused than upset.

“Hey, aren’t you the guy that killed his last school’s principle? Tom Wells?” 

Tom Wells was from Edd’s English class, and PE class. And Math class. And occasional trips to detention. He always sat in the back of the rooms, and had gotten into about three fist fights since last month. 

Where Edd was popular, Tom was infamous. He was the antisocial rebel of the school, most likely to have a gun or a knife or likely to shove you in a corner and rob you, though he was never caught doing it. People thought he was crazy, or angry, and Tom never seemed hesitant to kick someone’s ass so that only added to his reputation. Rumors about him were always about him getting arrested or killing his parents or past school mates. Everyone was scared of him. 

Tom had never spoken to Edd before, except maybe a few jokes thrown in as they passed in the hall, though they were mostly jeers at Tom from Edd’s companions and Tom’s sneering as a response. Edd had seen him get into an actual fist fight with a jock ‘friend’ of his, and Tom had walked away with a bloody nose but the jock had to get help to the nurses office. And now, Tom Wells hugged Edd’s leg while he rode through a weird high.

Tom rolled his head loosely, looking up at Edd from Edd’s hip, and Tom’s threatening black eyes seemed glazed when Edd met them with his own unfocused stare. His expression, which was always either stoic or enraged, was subdued and tired.

“Mmm, yeah. Never killed my principle though. Pretty funny rumor though.”

“Huh, whoa... Never thought you came to these stupid parties,” Edd mused aloud. Tom rolled his head back, right onto Edd’s hip, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. 

“I don’t.” Tom stated, but didn’t elaborate, and Edd snorted a laugh.

“How fucking gone are you?” 

“Very.” Tom’s head bobbed a bit with the word, and Edd laughed hopelessly because this was just too ridiculous.

He wasn’t friends with Tom, didn’t even know him all that well besides exaggerated rumors and glimpses in the hall or detention, but he also wasn’t really scared of the guy. Intimidated, yes, but not really as convinced that Tom would pull a knife on him as the rest of the student body. Still, it seemed hilarious to a very drunk Edd in that moment.

“I’m in the same boat as you.” Edd admitted among chuckles, before starting in again with, “Hey, wanna see my tattoo?”

Tom looked up at him again, though his expression was interested. “Sure.”

Edd flashed a goofy grin, and reached for the hem of his hoodie. He pulled it up, meaning to stop at his collar bones, but he forgot to stop and ended up yanking it up above his head. He stopped mid-action, laughing loosely.

“K, uh, wait- ha ha oh my god, whoops!” 

Tom laughed, “Dude, you need help?” 

“My shirt got caught-” 

As soon as Edd admitted as such, he felt arms move from his leg, and then hands were shoving at the rolled hem of his shirt and hoodie. Edd got stuck a bit more, arms stuck in a cross above his head, and he stumbled, practically falling, but Tom grabbed him and pulled him straight down. They landed sloppily, awkwardly knocking into each other but not really caring, Edd’s giggles catching onto Tom.

“For fucks sake- you’re gonna fall and give yourself a coma! Just sit down, you drink!”

Edd, with his face still trapped in his hoodie, stated with a laugh, “Drink!? It’s drunk! And I can’t give myself a coma! 

“Shut up, you’re stuck in your shirt!” Tom snickered helplessly, and his hands grabbed and yanked at Edd’s hoodie trap. It took a minute or so, both teens laughing until they were breathless and silly and shaking, but finally Edd managed to get free.

“Ah geez, I was just tryin to get my hoodie, not my shirt. Give me that,” Edd said as he took the rolled up hoodie and shirt combo, and he proceeded to instantly forget them in favor of pointing out the ink tattooed on his skin at his chest, “See?”

Tom squinted and tilted his head, “Uhh is that, like, a cat paw? Made of tiny cat paws?”

“Yes! I just got it a few months ago.” Edd grinned widely, very proud of the green and black colored pattern on his chest.

“Why the camouflage colors?”

Edd pried his shirt from his hoodie, “Uh, I like green?” 

Tom stared at the tattoo until Edd managed to shuffle his t-shirt back on, then he flashed a surprisingly soft smile. “Very nice. I’ve never gotten a tattoo before. I think my mom might kill me if I did.”

Edd shifted as he sat up more and shrugged.

“Yeah, well, my mum and dad are busy a lot, and Tord promised to get one with me so I was alright with it. His is more of a, like, uh, cat ears? Like two lil spikes right here, made of two lines. I think he cheated me out on it cause he didn’t want to get a good one, but I like mine a lot.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Eh, kind of, but I got a pretty good pain tolerance so it wasn’t so bad.”

“That’s cool,” Tom omitted, leaning back on one of his hands and nearly falling. He managed to slouch well enough that he didn’t just collapse, but his head was swaying a bit.

Edd nodded, finding his head extremely heavy with each little movement. A thought of the floor being cold was enough to encourage him to lie down. His head was spinning and his eyelids were heavy, falling shut without him really noticing. He did notice something else though.

“Tom?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that your foot?”

Tom’s combat clad foot was resting against the line of Edd’s knee, gently smoothing back and forth in a sort of soothing motion.

“Mm-hmm, yeah. I just kind of like doing this.”

Edd thought about complaining or telling the guy to leave him alone, but he honestly didn’t care. Besides, it was sort of comforting. In a weird ‘at least you’re not alone’ kind of way. Instead of backing up, Edd just yawned. He was finding the floor really comfortable at the moment, and felt no real need to get up or move. It was also helping with that annoying suffocating heat from his hoodie from before.

“When’s your high gonna wear off,” Edd asked, mostly talking to the ceiling and only partially caring for a response. Tom’s foot tapped for a second before going back to petting.

“Give or take a few minutes. I mean, it’s probably already. Cause I know I started coming down when I was hiding and that was, like, twenty minutes ago,” Tom sounded careless, “I’m mostly just tired now, and everything’s kinda blurry, but I’m probably fine. Shouldn’t drive, but yeah I’m more sober than you right now.”

“Good for you,” Edd muttered, head lolling against the cool floor. He let out another yawn, “’m tired. Drinking always makes me tired.”

Tom nudged him with the same foot that had been rubbing against his leg.

“Wanna crash in the bathtub?” 

“Like, together?”

Tom let out a giddy sounding laugh. “Whatever.”

“… Okay.”


	2. love songs through broken speakers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thrum of the car along with each bump, the whistle of cold night air coming in from the broken back window that was stuck halfway down, and the alternative music on the slightly static sprinkled speakers of the car was enough to fill the ride with a comfortable noise. Still, there was no way Tord was going to pass up talking to Matthew *fucking* Graves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, i found my new aesthetic while writing this~   
> this whole fic is nothing but aesthetic love stories lmao
> 
> pls enjoy :Vc

Tord had spent the majority of the party doing a blend of acting cool, acting stupid, and mild drinking as a means of impressing the people around him. It had been fun, in a sense, but entirely uneventful. Tord had actually been just trying to find one person the entire night, but the thick crowds and pounding music disoriented him and the people he was trying to get admiration from distracted him with drinking games and bullshit gossip.

He gained approval when he dissed the wrong music choices, and shoved and jeered the people who required a reminder of social status (both subjects of which Tord had excessively studied for), so he guessed the night wasn’t too pointless. At least it managed to further solidify the respect of his peers. 

If he hadn’t lost Edd hours ago, Edd probably would’ve called the night a ‘crap consolation prize’. Which it technically was, but Tord wouldn’t admit such to his best friend. Edd was already difficult enough, thank you. 

It was right when the party was winding down, and Tord’s slight buzz was wearing off, that Tord decided it was time to call it a night. Many of the crowd that Tord had mingled with was playing a weird drinking game in the backyard, which was where the life of the party had moved to maybe an hour ago. This left the house as an embodiment of a hangover; thick with the stench of spilled beer and puke, glittered with broken property, cluttered trash and empty bottles and plates, and still slightly throbbing from the music playing from the den. The people he ran across were either passed out or making out, or just waiting to leave with their own fading highs.

Tord was about to go and find Edd, leaving the overcrowded pool area and slipping into the slightly more subdued house, when he finally caught sight of the person he had been waiting for all night.

Matthew Graves was standing at the doorway of the ransacked kitchen, arms crossed over his chest as he loudly argued with someone. His ginger hair seemed highlighted with gold and amber, and his clothes were wrinkled and wonderfully out of place, and Tord almost missed what was being said.

“Oh, don’t worry about it at all, or ever again! Enjoy drinking alone, jerk,” Matt was saying, voice sharp and stressed. There was a voice inside the kitchen that yelled back at him, but Matt was already turning promptly on his heel and stalking away.

Tord hesitated for exactly one second before he broke into a run. He managed to reach Matt just as Matt started to go for the living room, and, swallowing his nerves, Tord called out to him.

“Matt! Hey, wait for a minute!” 

Matt stopped, and looked over his shoulder, looking angry at first before he realized who was talking to him. Then, Matt’s expression softened and he turned to greet Tord. In his hand was his cellphone, and Tord could see a contact page under Matt’s paused thumb.

“Oh, hi, Todd. I didn’t know you were here,” Matt greeted, with a smile that almost made up for the name slip.

Tord returned the smile, “It’s Tord, actually. And yeah, I was out at the pool most of the time… Uh, anyway, I couldn’t help but overhear you a minute ago. You sounded upset, are you okay?”

Matt blinked bright eyes as if surprised at Tord’s attention, but then he looked annoyed. He let out an exasperated huff, clicking off his phone.

“Oh, that- That was just, ugh, my friend Mark promised me a ride home tonight and I guess he forgot and got completely wasted.” Matt said flatly, placing a hand to his forehead. “I have to get home before the sun rises or my parents are seriously going to disown me, and I don’t have a way to get there. Now, I’ve gotta find a ride, but almost everyone here is either too drunk to drive or they don’t have a car, so I’m screwed unless someone-”

“I can give you a ride.” Tord blurted out. He fished the keys from his pocket and showing them as if he might need proof. Tord flicked the keys around his fingers, trying to appear nonchalant, but then fumbled with them for a second.

Matt looked curious. “You have a car?”

“Uh, sort of. It’s loaned from my mother.” 

“You’re not drunk?”

“No! I only had a few drinks hours ago, so I’m completely sober right now.”

Matt looked thoughtful for a moment, before he checked his phone again. He only glanced at it for a moment, but then instantly seemed to give up on it, clicking it off again.

“You’re sure? I mean, I wouldn’t want you to have to leave early on my account,” Despite his words, Matt’s voice was edged with nerves so it was obvious that he really wanted to accept. He probably really needed to get home. 

Tord immediately shook his head.

“No, no, no! It’s fine. I was already leaving anyway, so it’s no trouble. I’d love to give you a ride,” Tord spoke a bit fast, but was thankfully coherent. Matt looked as if he might think Tord was lying about not being drunk, but then he just let out a charmed sort of laugh. At least, Tord was charmed.

“Alright, if you say so. I’ll owe you one.”

Tord lightly rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he interrupted the promise of a solo car ride with Matthew Graves, not even baring to look the prince of his school in the eye as he spoke.

“I’ve just got to find my friend first; I drove him here.”

He partially expected Matt to complain or retract his agreement in favor of finding someone else. Matt did check his phone again, probably looking for the time, but then he nodded and offered a kind smile. 

“Okay, but we better find him quick.”

“Uh, yeah, of course,” Tord answered instantly, mostly surprised that Matt was not only fine with waiting a bit, but also seemed to want to tag along. In a matter of seconds, Tord explained who they were looking for and the two of them set out.

They searched groggy, post party rooms filled with passed out teens, broken bottles and broken furniture. The people who were still awake were either trying to get their friends up to leave or were severely drunk or high or a mixture of both. 

Just when Tord was worried that Edd had somehow been convinced to sleep on the roof or lawn or something like that, Matt got his attention with a call of, “Todd! Is this him?”

Tord followed the call into an almost neat parent’s room (most likely off limits), to a large bathroom. When he entered, Tord muttered a correction to Matt’s mistake, but he forgot about it the moment he realized that Matt had a weird expression that was sort of a grin and sort of a wince. Matt gestured to the bathtub just as Tord was about to ask.

Inside of the tub was Edd, missing his hoodie and unconscious. Curled against another man’s chest. Their legs were entangled, with their arms around one another and their necks and backs at obviously uncomfortable angles. Still, both of them seemed comfortably asleep. Edd’s hoodie and a jacket were draped over the edge of the tub, leaving the man and Tord’s friend in just their jeans and t-shirts.

Tord stared for a minute longer than he meant to, mostly just caught off guard. 

“Yes, it’s him,” Tord admitted, narrowing his eyes, “But I don’t know who that is.”

Matt tilted his head, with a strange half smile. “Isn’t that Tom Wells? The kid who burned down his last school?”  
Tom Wells, the arson and cruel rebel that he was rumored to be, let out a soft moan and burrowed his face in Edd’s hair. Edd, in turn, was tucked closer so that his head was nuzzled against Tom Wells’ throat.

Tord heard himself hiss. He probably shouldn’t have left Edd alone, and probably wouldn’t have if he had known this was the sort of person his friend would attract.

“Ugh, he has such terrible tastes… Edd, my friend? Wake up, it’s time to go.” 

Instead of Edd, Tom Wells was the one woken by Tord’s words. 

Tom’s eyes flashed open, and he instantly flashed the sharpest, meanest glare that Tord could remember seeing at school. Or in general. Honestly, he felt like the guy was probably going to pull a knife on him for trying to get his friend.

“Shut up and get out,” Tom snarled, and Edd didn’t even make a noise as he curled closer to Tom’s chest.

Tord frowned.

“I’m sorry to wake you, but I promised my friend there that I would be giving him a ride home, so, if you would kindly let go of him-” 

Tom Wells made a noise that was a mix between a growl and a groan. Tord was sure that Tom also rolled his eyes but it was impossible to tell.

Tom Wells shifted, nudging Edd, “Hey, Edd? Edd. Come on.”

Edd mumbled something, and woke up bleary and dazed. His hair tickled Tom’s face, but neither of them seemed aware of how close they were, or that they still had their arms around one another.

“Hmm, what’s up?”

“Your friend woke me up.” Tom gestured with his chin.

“Friend?” Edd repeated, then yawned and looked up. Upon seeing Tord, Edd let out a sigh that sounded like, “Oh, him.” But, then he glanced passed Tord and saw Matt, who waved a bit shyly and Edd squinted his eyes and finished with, “Holy shit, you actually got Matt-”

Tord violently shushed him, “I offered Matt a ride home! You’re lucky that I even came looking for you! Get up if you still want to get home tonight.”

Edd let out a deep huff, sounding exhausted, and he curled back to Tom in the tub, like how someone curls up on a bed.

“Alright,” Edd yawned again, then he asked, “Tom, do you need a ride?”

“I am not giving Thomas Wells a ride home!” Tord snapped, but was ignored by everyone, save for a curious glance from Matt.

Tom seemed thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head. “Na, I don’t really want to go home.”

“Oh. Wanna come over to my house, then?” Edd sounded utterly casual when he spoke, and Tord started to sputter.

“What?! Don’t invite him over to your-!”

Tom interrupted with a weird look, a mix between surprised and flattered, “You sure?”

Edd shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I am home alone for the weekend, so it’s not like I’ll get in trouble or anything.”

“You got a bed?”

“Yup.”

“Alright, guess I’m coming over then.” 

“Sweet.”

Tord let out a disbelieving sound, but didn’t even bother to discuss this. He didn’t have time, and besides, he had Matthew Graves next to him so he didn’t want to risk Matt getting annoyed with all the arguing.

“Ugh, fine!” Tord turned, and grabbed hold of Matt’s wrist. “You two get up and come on already. Matt and I will be in the hall.” 

Tord couldn’t make out what Edd shouted after him, but Tord could hear Tom Wells laughing.

As Tom Wells and Edd fumbled and climbed out of the bathtub, talking about something that Tord didn’t catch, Tord and Matt waited outside the parent’s room. Matt was casually swiping something on his phone, and Tord suspected that he might just be playing with his touch screen. They didn’t say much, though Tord couldn’t ignore how Matt’s arm brushed his as they leaned against the wall together.

A few minutes and Tom Wells and Edd came out, Edd looking thoroughly disheveled and a bit pale, but Tom looked utterly casual. Tord thought about asking if Edd had gotten sick, but he figured that would be a pointless question considering that he had just found Edd in a bathtub. 

They headed down stairs and left the party without running into anyone else, though they did have to step over (or in Edd’s case, trip over) several fellow passed out students. Tord overheard Tom Wells mention that he was glad that he wouldn’t be sleeping there, right as Tom Wells helped Edd up from tripping on a guy who wasn’t wearing a shirt. 

Once they reached Tord’s car, Tom Wells called it shitty and Edd snorted as the both of them climbed into the back. Matt took the seat next to Tord, and Tord caught sight of Matt’s face as he adjusted the mirrors. The radio played a sort of calm alternative station (Tord was grateful that Edd hadn’t left on the weird grunge that he usually did), and Tord turned it up just enough that he couldn’t hear the conversation coming from the back seat. A little too much giggling for his taste, and he caught sight of them leaning on each other when he checked out the back window.

Matt gave directions to his house, and despite it being a bit further, Tord agreed to drop him off first.

They drove in a calm sort of state that always comes with leaving a party, that is a blend of relief and exhausted nerves. The thrum of the car along with each bump, the whistle of cold night air coming in from the broken back window that was stuck halfway down, and the alternative music on the slightly static sprinkled speakers of the car added just enough noise to make the silence feel comfortable.

Tord drove slow, partially because it was late, and partially because he was staling. He needed to talk, he finally had a chance to speak with Matthew Graves, for fucks-sake, there was no way he could pass this up.

“So, if you already had a ride planned tonight, why didn’t you drink?” Tord figured it was a casual enough question to ask.

“Well, if my parents would notice me getting back late, then they would probably notice if I came home wasted.” Matt’s voice was a bit teasing, and Tord could see that Matt was leaning against the window.

“And that would be…?”

“Bad. Remember how I mentioned disowning before? Yeah, well if I came home drunk I would actually be killed.” 

“… You could just tell me you don’t like drinking. I’m not going to think you’re weird or anything.”

“What? No. That’s not it,” Matt sputtered a bit defensively, and Tord spared a glance at him.

“Oh, so you’re a light weight then?”

Matt made a slight scoffing noise, but then let out a sigh. 

“Huh, yeah. How’d you guess?”

Tord shrugged, signaled, and turned the car.

“I asked why you didn’t drink, not why you didn’t get drunk. There’s a big difference there, but you acted as if it was the same thing, so- Yeah.”

They pulled to a stop light right then, so Tord risked a look at Matt. Matt was staring at him with wide eyes, looking surprised.

“Nerd!” Edd jeered from the backseat, and kicked Tord’s seat. “Show your work like you do in math class!”

Tom Wells cackled, and Tord threw a glare over his shoulder.

“I will turn this car around, you drunk assholes!” Tord threatened, and both Tom and Edd just burst into more laughter. 

“Boo, you’re not my real dad!” 

Tord just sighed tiredly, tempted to kick the both of them out, but knowing he couldn’t just do that to his friend, no matter how annoying he was being. Instead of arguing with a pair of drunk teens, Tord just turned the volume up on the stereo a bit more. The heavy bass line of the next song managed to drown out their loud happy laughter. It was only when Tord started driving again that Matt spoke.

“That’s pretty amazing,” Matt actually leaned closer in his seat so that Tord could hear him over the music better. Tord had never been more thankful that the front speakers of the car were weaker than the ones in the back.

“Um, thanks? I just ignored them. I mean, drunks are a lot like kids, so they stop talking to you if you don’t listen.”

“Not that,” Matt answered, lightly swatting at his shoulder, “I’m talking about what you said before. How you figured out that I didn’t drink because I’m a lightweight, just by listening to me talk. It was impressive. Like Sherlock Holmes.”

Tord chuckled, hoping it sounded more amused than nervous.

“Oh- uh, it’s nothing that cool, I just put together what you said with logic and stuff,” Tord explained, managing to stay mainly calm because he had to keep his eyes on the road. If he had been facing Matt, he might’ve just fallen to pieces right there.

“You’re actually really smart aren’t you, Todd?”

The question caught Tord off guard, “It’s Tord, and what do you mean by that-?”

He was interrupted by Matt telling him that he was about to speed passed his turn, and Tord had to almost slam on the brakes to prevent passing it. Which caused the car to jerk. Matthew Graves fell forward, and he let out an uncomfortable noise. The two in the back fumbled and Tom Wells fell out of his seat. Edd instantly tried to help him up, and Tord straightened the car, and yelled at the two of them to put on their seat belts. Then, Tord instantly started fumbling with apologies.

“It’s fine, just uh, relax a little? Doing stuff like that is going to get us in a wreck.” Matt didn’t sound mad or upset, just a bit startled. Tord mentally cursed himself for overreacting, but went back to driving as calmly as he could, with a new found watchfulness that he had forgotten before. They made another turn before Matt spoke again, “You know, I’ve seen you do some pretty stupid stuff before. Like trip people on purpose or fall out of your chairs in class. You’ve walked directly into walls and talk back to teachers for no reason at all. You also act like you are so good at PE, but you can’t run to save your life.”

“Huh?” Tord said instead of ‘you saw that?’ like he wanted to, mostly because he was hoping that he might be able to deny it. Well, the running he couldn’t play off since Matt was in the same class, but he had been hoping that it had come off more as a trying to get better rather than just being a moron. So much for that.

“I’ve seen you do a bunch of stuff that would make people think you’re an idiot, and a lot of people do. But you’re not one, are you?”

“Uh...” 

“Nice point.” 

Tord could hear the smile in Matt’s voice, and the silly giggle that followed helped Tord breathe again. A bit of silence passed, just a sort of casual, comfortable moment where the only sound came from the two talking in the back just under the layer of crackling music from some popular radio station, and the broken window and the car on the road. 

Matt told Tord when to turn or slow down, and Tord wasn’t sure if he was imagining the fond, friendly tone Matt used. 

They reached Matt’s home all too fast, and when Matt went to reach for the handle, Tord had to stop him and tell him that the door was broken from the inside. Tord ignored the teasing from the backseat and slipped out of the car. When he let Matt out of the car, and the prince of his school moved from the shadowed car to the moonlit open air, and he saw Matt’s bright smile, Tord had to remind himself that he had to move his mouth to talk.

“So, uh, this was fun?” Tord started awkwardly, and then instantly shut the door to seal off the jeers from Edd and the bully that was Tom Wells. “I know it was a short ride, but I’m glad you were with me. I don’t think I could’ve handled having those two in the back without some sort of distraction.” 

“Well, I’m glad I was a good distraction.” Matt stated with a warm tone, his eyes on the phone in his hands. He was clicking at it again, and Tord caught sight of the contacts page again.

“Ha, yes, um. If you ever need a ride again, feel free to ask me. I would love to do this again.”

Matt peeked up from his phone, a small teasing smile pulling up his lips.

“You want to give me a ride home before my parents kill me, nearly crash the car, and have your drunk friend and Tom Wells in the backseat laughing at you, again? Did you want to make this a common occurrence, like an every Saturday thing?” 

Tord felt himself flush, and he scratched his neck nervously. The laugh he let out was as awkward as his slight slouch.

“Okay, not the whole thing again, no. I meant,” Tord cleared his throat, “just you and I driving around a bit. You’re very fun to talk to.”

“Are you just saying that because I called you smart?”

“Perhaps. I also might just like that you found out that I’m smart under my, er, stupid antics. Not many can see past my surface idiocy, besides Edd.”

Matt and Tord both glanced at the back window, where Edd was flopped over in the seat struggling with his hoodie while Tom Wells laughed. 

“Yeah, I can see why you two get along so well.” Matt laughed, and Tord joined in. Just as Tord’s laugh started to taper off, Matt lightly tapped him on his forehead with his phone, “Tell me your number.”

Tord stuttered a bit, but then managed to list out the string of numbers without much fault. Matt repeated it back, and when Tord nodded, Matt typed a bit more before clicking the whole phone off and shoving it away into his pocket.

“So, see you next time?”

Matt surprisingly just giggled, as if Tord was being funny, and rolled his eyes. His hand was suddenly brushing back Tord’s messy bangs, exposing his forehead, and Matt leaned down in one smooth motion to press a gentle kiss to Tord’s brow. Tord made a dying noise in the back of his throat that he hoped only he heard, and worried that his hair was probably greasy or tangled, but Matt was smiling at him, already stepping back towards his house.

“Thanks again for the ride. See you around,” Matt called with a big smile that Tord couldn’t recall seeing before, and he waved. 

Tord was unable to come up with a response to that by the time Matt reached his front door. Then, Tord quickly hurried back to the driver’s side so as to not appear frozen. Once Tord slipped back into the seat, he was met with a fairly common yet static crackling pop song and the casual talking of the two guys in the backseat. 

Tord sat there for a moment, just sort of in a daze, until Edd leaned over the seat and wrapped an arm around Tord’s neck in a friendly choke-hold.

“So... does he know your name is actually Tord and not Todd?” 

“OH FUCK!”

The rest of the way to Edd’s house to drop off the two drunks, was spent with Tord cursing at himself and wondering, and Edd and Tom Wells teasing him. Tord ignored them mainly out of spite and anger, throwing glares at them in the rear-view mirror. He noticed that Edd was wearing Tom Wells’ black jacket over his hoodie, which was oversize enough that it didn’t look too unusual, but the weird layering of clothes just reminded Tord of Matthew Graves and he felt upset all over again. He was honestly tempted to start crying in frustration by the time he made it to Edd’s home, face resting against the steering wheel as he waited for Edd and Tom to get out of his car already.

Then his phone went off.

Thinking it was his mother or someone else begging for a ride, Tord didn’t even look as he dug it out of his pocket. He grumbled to himself as he rolled his head to check, but then he jolted upright with a choked noise in his throat.

It was a text message, from an unlisted number, and it read ‘heyyy Tord it’s Matt! just wanted to text u so u have my # and also to let u know that i’ll c u in class on monday, so we’ll talk then, k? Make sure to drive safe or i’ll never get in a car with u ever again lol’

Tord just stared at the letters for a long minute, mainly just staring at his own name over and over again. 

“Huh, so he actually knows who you are,” Edd interrupted Tord’s thoughts, reading the message over Tord’s shoulder.

Tom added, “That’s weird. I thought you’d only be able to land someone if they didn’t know who you were.”

“GET OUT OF MY CAR.”


End file.
